Welt shoe



Sept. 10, 1929. w. L. MILLS WELT sHoE Filed Sept. 22, 1927 ffl/fluit, 1;/-

Patented Sept. 10, .1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM L. MILLS, OF WHITMAN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO IMPROVED SHOE METHODS CORPORATION, OF PORTLAND, MAINE, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

WELT SHOE.

Application led September 22, v1927. Serial No. 221,231.

The present invention relates to the manufacture of boots and shoes, and more particularly to that type of shoe in which the outseam stitches, which secure the outsole to the shoe, are anchored in a welt located outside the shoe, and the inseam stitches which secure the upperto the insole are buried within the insole out of contact with the wearers foot. At the present time the standard shoe of this type is the Goodyear welt.

There is an inherent defect in the Goodyear welt shoe. In order to secure the upper, welt and insole together by means of the in- ,seam stitches, it is necessary to provide the insole with a sewing rib to which the upper and welt may be attached. If now an outsole lis placed over the ribbed insole it will rest on the rib and a hollowr space is formed between the two soles. In order to fill this hollow space a layer of plastic material is spread on the insole inside the rib so that when the outsole isfastened to the welt it rests on a substantially level shoe bottom. With this construction when the finished shoe is new the inside surface of the shoe is perfectly smooth.

In use, however, the heat of the foot softens the underlying plastic material and in walking this becomes displaced so much thatrif any shoe of this type is examined after being worn a short time the inside surface will be found to have become humped and hollowed tothe general shape of the foot. This alteration of the original form of the inside of aA Goodyear welt shoe results in the foot being clamped as in'a vise so that all the elements provided bynature for the protection of the foot. and/or for aiding in propelling the `wearer forward,are prevented from performing their proper functions. `According to 4the opinion of orthopedic surgeons the greater number, if not all, of the more common foot troubles may be attributed to Jthis f source. 4

Many' attempts have been made to correct this inherent defect in a Goodyear welt shoe. Heretofore, it has been proposed to secure `the 'upper and welt to an insole while the upper and welt were positioned entirely outside the peripheral edge of the insole thus to avoid ")0 the characteristic sewing rib in a Goodyear welt insole. With this proposed construction the insole and outsole may be secured together in a face to face manner thus obviatinv the use of the troublesome insole filler. shoe so made exposed the full width of the welt to view and thus made the welt such a prominent feature of the shoe as to vseriously detract from the appearance thereof and,

furthermore, made the wearer and the vobserver of the shoe believe th'a't the shoe was a stitch down or some other radical departure from standard welt shoe construction. I am 4 aware that two attempts have been made to correct this unsightly defect in the construction of welt shoes of the type characterized ance with the requirements for a standard Goodyear welt insole but, before lasting, this .feather was removed oneach' side of the insole from a point adjacent the tip line to a point'in the, shank adjacent where the forepart curvature on the periphery of the insole is reversed. Vhen this insole was secured to the bottom of a last of its own size and original width the portions of the edges of the insole from which the feather had been removed were inset from the edge of the last, i. e. while the toe and shank fitted the last the main portion of the forepart was narrower than the last.` With an insole constructed and positioned on the last asdescribed it is possible to make a welt sole without a sole filler upon standard shoe machines. But shoes so made are defective because, with the narrowed insole, the foot of thewearer must tread onthe crease between the edge of the insole and the upper along the portions of the insole from .whichtheffeather has been removed, resulting eventually in more discomfort and more serious injury to the feet than with the insole filled type of welt shoe. r i

The ob `ect of the present invention is to produce an attractive welt shoe, of the'type characterized by an absence of fugitive sole filling material, which may be manufactured on standard lasts and with standard shoe machines, and which is provided with an insole having a comfortable and non-injurious foot supporting surface.

To the accomplishment of this object and such others as may hereinafter appear, the features rof the present invention relate to certain combinations, constructions, arrangements of parts and methods of manufacture fully set forth hereinafter, the advantages of which will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

The various features of the present invention'will be readily understood from an inspection of the accompanying drawings il- ,lustrating the best form of the invention at present known to me, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan of the insole positioned on the bottom of a last;

Fig. 2 isa plan of the step product of my method after the shoe has been lasted, welted, and vamp trimmed;

Fig. 3 is a -sectional elevationon the line 3 3, Fig. 2; y L 1 Fig. 4 is a detail center-line sectional elevation of the toe of a finished shoe; and

' Fig. 5 is a detail in sectional elevation of a completed lshoe on a line corresponding to 5 5, Fig. 2. l

In the illustrated embodiment of the in vention an insole 6 is died out so that its edge will register with the edges ofthe last upon which the shoe is to be made. The insole 6 is then iittedwith a channel 8 and three 'sepas rate shouldered feathers 9, l() and 11. The

feather 9 extends around the toe of the insole 6 forward of the tip line. The feathers 10 and 11 are located upon opposite sides of the insole and preferably extend from a point ad jacent the welt butt point 12 substantially to the point in the ,shank where -the forepart curvature is reversed. The feathers 9', 10 and 11 may be formed during the channelingo peration by any suitable type of knife that provides for a sewing shoulder and the portion of the insolev having an unshouldered edge rex tending between these feathers covers the yfull width of the last. y

' The channeled and partly shouldered insole is then secured to the last 7 so that the periphery of the insole lies flush with the periphery o'f the bottom of the last (Fig. 1).' The upper 13, including the usual lining, counter and box, is assembled with the last and insole and is then lasted. At the toe and at the shank adjacent the welt butt pointsthe upper is drawn, during the lasting operation, over the feathers and against the shoulders, however formed, in accordance with the usual method yof lasting welt shoes. At the unshouldered edge faces of the insole which extend between the shoulders at the shank and toe and lie at the edge of the last, the upperris then provided with a welt 14. As shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5 the inseam stitches 15 are anchored in a groove 1G on the welt and in the bottom of the channel 8 and pass through the shoulder of the insole at the feathers 9,

10 and 11 and through the intact edge faces 75 of the insole between the shank and toe feathers. During the inseam sewing opera- ,tion the tensionvon the thread draws the upper tightly into contact with the intact edge faces of the insole at the unshouldered portions thereof (Fig. 3). l

After the welt applying operation the stay tacks which hold the lasted upper in position for sewing the inseam are removed and the channel flap is cemented back into the channel S5 8 restoring the unbroken surface of the insole. The free edge of the upper 13 is trimmed flush with the adjacent face of the insole from the welt buttv point 12 on the outside of the 'shoe to a point adjacent the ball line on the 90 inside of the shoe (Fig. 2). The untrimmed portion 113 of the upper 13 is turned down upon and is cemented to the adjacent face of the insole. The portion 113 of the upper and its lining function to fill up the hollowT at the inside of the shoe created by the shape of`v the instep portion of the last. A shankpiece may, if required by the type of last, be laid beside the inturned margin of the upper.

An outsole 17, moulded if desired, is laid and leveled on the substantially level bottom formed as above described and the shoe `is then subjected to the usual subsequent making and finishing operations for Goodyear welt shoes.

Vith this construction and method of manufacture no plastic material is required to fill a large cavity between the insole and outsole. The small cavities, formed between the insole and the outsole at the shank are adequately filled by the untrimmed portion of the inturned'upper or a shank piece, or both, neither of which are displaceahle like the usual insole filler. The shoulders at the toe and shank portions of the insole permit the upper to be llasted insnugly to the last at these portions of the shoe thus retaining the lines of the last in the completed shoe which gives style and perfection to the shoemaking. The welt, at the feathered toe and feathered shank forwar'd thek welt butts, is drawn vunder these 120 feathers and under the inlasted upper thus making the shoe, in the external appearance of itsfshank and toe, the counterpart of a standard Goodyear welt shoe. Moreover, as

the unshouldered or intact edge faces of the insole extending between the` shank and toe shoulders lie at the edges of the bottom of the last, the forepart of the foot of the wearer is wholly and adequately supported by the in- .sole well within the creases between the edges of the insole and over-lasted upper. This J construction provides a roomy and comfortable shoe and yet one that is snug where snugness is a requisite and without sacrificing either style or fine shoemaking standards. The outsole 17, by pressing upon the untrimmed and overlaid skirt 113 of the upper 13, relieves the inseam of much of the strain to which it would otherwise be subjected.

The nature and scope of the invention having been indicated and its preferred embodiment and method of manufacture having been specifically described, While yet recognizing that some modications and changes may be made `without departing from itsspirit and scope, what is claimed as new, is

l. rllhat improvement in the art of preparing insoles forwelt shoes which consists in cutting the insole to lie with itsedge flush with the edge of the bottom of the last upon which the welt shoe is to be made, and partially feathering said edge of the insole, namely, around the toe extending forward of the tip line and at the shank from substantially the welt butty points forward substantially to the points Where the direction of the forepart curvature is reversed.

2. That improvement in the art of preparing insoles for welt shoes which consists in cutting the insole to lie with its edge flush with the edge of the bottom of the, last upon' which the welt shoe is to be made, channeling the insole, and fitting said insole edge with disconnected shoulders along said chan- 7 nel at three separated places, namely, around the toe extending forward of the tip line and at the shank at each side thereof from a point adjacent the welt 'butt point to substantially the point where the direction of the forepart curvature is reversed. Y

3. rlfhat improvement in the art of making welt shoes which consists in3preparin0 of the forepart curvature is reversed; as-Y and insole.

4. In a welt shoe, an insole having a shoulfder around the toe extending forward of the tip line, a shoulder on each side of the shank adjacent the welt butt points, and a forepart intermediate said shoulders of the full width of the last on which the shoe is built, having an unshouldered edge at each side of said orepart between said shank and toe shoulers. 5. In a welt shoe, an insole having'a marginal channel, a shoulder about the toe outside of said channel, a shoulder on each side of the shank adjacent the welt butt points -outside of said channel, and a forepart intermediate said shoulders 'of the full width of the last on which the shoe is built, having an unshouldered edge at each side of said forepart between said shank and to shoulders.

6. A Welt shoe having the excess marginA `of the upper turned down upon the adjacent face of the insole from a point adjacent ,the welt butt point on the inside of the shoe to a point adjacent the ball line on the inside of the shoe, said margin being elsewhere inseam trimmed.

7. A welt shoe having, in combination, an upper, van insole havin@V a width in the lregion of the ball of the full width of the last bottom, a welt stitched to the upper and insole, said welt being drawn by said stitching partially beneath the upper and insole at the toe and at the shank adjacent the welt butt points but lying wholly outside the upper and the peripheral edge of the insole at said ball portion thereof, and an outsole secured to the welt.

8. A welt shoe having, in combination, an upper, an insole having a width in the region of the ball of the full width of the last bottom, an upper generally inseam trimmed but having a skirt froma point adjacent the welt butt point on the inside of the shoe to a pointadjacent the ball on the same side of the shoe retainedfand overlaid on the insole as a filler, a welt securedjto the insole having its lower face in the plane of the lower face of the filled insole, and an outsole secured to the welt against said welt, filler WILLIAM L. MILLS.

sembling the insole on the last by'reister-l 'i ing t-he edge of the insole with the e securing a welt to the upper and insole; trimming the free edge of the upper flush with the adjacent face of the insole from ge `of j the bottom of the last; lasting the upper;

substantially the welt buttpoint on the out-r side of the shoe to a point adjacent the tip line onthe inside of the shoe; turning the untrimmed portion of the upper down upon the adjacent faceof the insole; applying an outsole over the insole and turned down upper 5 and finishing the shoe. 

